Air circulator

ABSTRACT

An air circulator is disclosed comprising a mounting portion, and a fan portion. The fail portion includes a housing and a fan, and the fan portion is pivotally coupled to the mounting portion. The fan portion may be pivoted between a first position and a second position relative to the mounting portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/095,153, filed Sep. 8, 2008, entitled AIR CIRCULATOR, which document is hereby incorporated by reference to the extent permitted by law.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Air circulators such as are often used to direct air movement and disperse particulates and other components of the surrounding air, In kitchen applications. fans and other circulators are often positioned near stoves and ovens. The circulators draw air that may include steam, smoke, or other components. The air may be passed through a duct to a filter and then recirculated into the kitchen. In other kitchen applications, the air may be directed through a duct to an exhaust port or simply dispersed through the kitchen. Normally, an air circulator used in a kitchen is used in only one of these modes (i.e. filtering or exhausting, and dispersing the air).

Fans are also used to circulate air to provide enhanced comfort and circulation in areas other than kitchens. For example, work benches, desks and other work stations are often arranged in ways that many fans are too cumbersome for practical use. For example, floor and desk space in a cubicle and other work area is very limited so circulators and fans that rest on those surfaces are not ideal.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an air circulation device capable of operating in more than one such mode without cumbersome reconfiguration. It would be a further advantage to provide such a device that can easily transition from one mode to another. It would also be advantageous to provide a fan or air circulator that is configured to be easily stored and used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments relate to an air circulator comprising a mounting portion and a fan portion. The fan portion includes a housing and a fan, and the fan portion is pivotally coupled to the mounting portion. The fan portion may be pivoted between a first position and a second position relative to the mounting portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multi-position air circulator in a first position.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the multi-position air circulator in the first position.

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the multi-position air circulator in a second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, circulator 10 includes a mounting portion 12 coupled to fan portion 14 and is shown in a first position. Fan portion 14 includes a housing shown as a clamshell type housing having a front half 16 and a back half 18 that are joined at seam 20. A fan 22 is housed in fan portion 14 and front half 16 may include a grill such as spiral grill 24 positioned in front of fan 22. A switch 26 is provided to activate the motor that drives fan 24. Handle 28 may be coupled to fan portion 14 at either one or both of front portion 16 and/or back portion 18 at a position distal to mounting portion 12.

Mounting portion 12 is coupled to fan portion 14 along respective edges of fat portion 14 and mounting portion 12 at region 30. Mounting portion 12 may include a lower portion 32 and an upper portion 34. Lower portion 32 is defined by a generally rectangular perimeter.

Lower portion 32 may have a contour that generally corresponds to a contour of back portion 18. Lower portion 32 may also include an arcuate region 36 for coupling mounting portion 12 to fan portion 14.

Upper portion 34 is coupled to lower portion 32 and is shown as a generally cylindrical and defines an opening 38 that extends through mounting portion 12. Upper portion 34 may be configured to couple with a conduit or duct through which the circulator may direct air. Alternatively, upper portion 34 may be configured to be coupled to the underside of a cabinet or other structure without the use of a conduit or duet. In such applications, the first position may be used to deploy the fan portion for circulating air while the second position (shown in FIG. 3) is used as a storage position. Upper portion 34 may be provided with a variety of structures such as recesses 40 and extensions 42 for coupling the mounting portion 12 to a duct or to another structure such as the underside of a cabinet. The circulator may be configured to allow the fan portion 14 to be locked in a finite number of positions relative to mounting portion 12. Alternatively, circulator ID may be configured to allow infinite adjustability between the first position and the second position.

Referring to FIG. 2, back portion 18 may include a housing 44 for housing a fan motor. Lower portion 32 of mounting portion 12 may include a chamfered region 46 configured to receive a grill disposed an back portion 18 without obstructing airflow through fan portion 14 when the circulator 10 is in a second position. Hinges 48 may be used to selectively position fan portion 1 with respect to mounting portion 12. In some embodiments, the opening 38 may be used to house a power cord that may be wrapped and stored therein. The plug end of the cord may extend through opening in upper portion 34.

Referring to FIG. 3, circulator is in a second positioned where the fan portion 14 has been pivoted up. Housing 44 is at least partially disposed in opening 38. In applications where upper portion 12 is coupled to a conduit or duct, fan 22 may be used to direct air up through the annular region between upper portion 12 and housing 44. When fan portion 14 is pivoted down into the first position, fan 22 may be used to circulate air without directing it up through opening 38.

In addition to kitchen applications, the circulator may be installed under other structures similar to cabinets where it may be advantageous to have a readily accessible air circulation device that may be pivoted up to an out-of-the-way stored position. By way of example, workspaces such as workbenches and cubicles with little desk space may include overhanging shelves. In these environments, the circulator may be mounted to the underside of the shelving.

Although the foregoing has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. For example, although different example embodiments may have been described as including one or more features providing one or more benefits, it is contemplated that the described features may be interchanged with one another or alternatively be combined with one another in the described example embodiments or in other alternative embodiments. The present subject matter described with reference to the example embodiments and set forth in the following claims is manifestly intended to be as broad as possible. For example, unless specifically otherwise noted, the claims reciting a single particular element also encompass a plurality of such particular elements. any other changes and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. The scope of these and other changes will become apparent from the appended claims. The steps of the methods described herein may be varied, and carried out in different sequences. 

1. An air circulator comprising: a mounting portion; and a fan portion pivotally coupled to the mounting portion including a housing and a fan; wherein the fan portion may be pivoted between a first position and a second position relative to the mounting portion. 